


Red Uniform

by Belanna



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2012-06-02
Packaged: 2017-11-06 14:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/419695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Belanna/pseuds/Belanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kathryn blames her uniform for all the mess ups she has had in her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Uniform

Star Trek Voyager and Chars belong to Paramount/CBS  
Thank you to Elorie for the beta  
This story was written in 2009 and based off of Camryn's amazing fiddle located here.  
http://belanna.faketrek.com/WebpageNEW/main/stories/pg13/reduniform/reduniformtitle.jpg  
...

Captain Kathryn Janeway smiled as she walked across the bridge, a PADD in her hand. Her heart soared knowing who it was from. Finally after all these years, she had a communication with Mark. The last time she spoke to him was just before leaving Deep Space Nine over four years ago. She hoped he had missed her as much as she had him.

"Is that a letter for you, Captain?" Harry asked

"Yes, Seven just downloaded it. I'll be in my ready room."

Tom grinned. "Yes, Ma'am."

Kathryn walked into her ready room and held the PADD like a lifeline. She sat down on her sofa, took a deep breath and began to read.

Dear Kathryn,   
I was just remembering about the litter of Mollie's puppies and how long ago that was. You would not believe how big they are now and how well they get along with my new litter. Things at work are stir crazy. The production counsel never seems to let up. Whenever I do need to relax I go out with a co-worker. She and I are engaged now, her name is Carla. I am sorry, Kathryn. They gave you up for dead two years after you disappeared. I couldn't wait for you. I am so sorry, but I love Carla, Kathryn. I love her with all of my heart. Take care of yourself, get your crew home. And when I do see you, we will have one of those famous barbeques you're always fond of.   
Love Always,   
Mark

Kathryn's smile faded and her body tightened as she looked up from the PADD. She stared at the wall a long time barely noticing a tear falling from her face. She let the droplets fall as she reached over and grabbed the picture of Mark and Molly. She traced her hand over his features.

Kathryn felt another tear go down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. Life was unfair. She tried to do was to do the best damn job she could do and it seemed that no matter what happened Starfleet was the one that yanked it all away. She lost her father and Justin due to Starfleet.

She was pressured mostly by Owen Paris to get into Command instead of what she really wanted to do, Quantum Mechanics. Due to Goddamned Starfleet, she got stranded out here in Delta quadrant hell along with the Maquis. If it wasn't for Starfleet she would be married to Mark by now, having a life of her own and not here fighting all the time for her life and crew.

She walked onto the bridge with a heavy weight on her shoulders. Tom Paris stood again from the Captain's chair but noticed that Kathryn headed to the lift without saying a word. Harry and Tom exchanged a look as the doors of the lift closed.

"I wonder what was in the letter."

"Best not to be snooping, Harry." Tom said as he sat back down.

*** 

It was after lunch and poor Harry hadn't received a letter yet. As for Tom, he was happy that he hadn't received any letters, it was best to let sleeping dogs lie. As Tom moved to his station, he noticed Chakotay was a little on edge.

"Chakotay, I'm so sorry about what happened. I don't know what to say."

Chakotay looked up from his PADD and nodded. "Thank you, Tom. You probably want to talk to B'Elanna though. She is having a more difficult time than I am."

Tom nodded. "Aye, Sir."

Seven of Nine departed the Captain's Ready Room. As the doors closed, she stopped and lifted a brow. "Puzzling."

"What is?" Chakotay asked as he looked at the half Borg.

"The Captain is not herself."

"You noticed that too, huh?" Tom asked as he swung in his chair.

"What do you mean?" Chakotay placed his PADD down on his lap.

"The Captain seems... troubled by something."

"A few hours ago she came out of her ready room with a blank stare. I'm going to guess something in that letter made her very upset." Tom suggested.

Chakotay looked at the ready room door. He wanted to go in and ask what's wrong. But knowing Kathryn, she would have thrown him out faster than he got in.

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll see what I can do. You have the bridge, Tom."

"Aye, Sir."

***

Chakotay found Neelix in the Messhall handing out more letters.

"Aww, Commander. I don't have one for you yet." Neelix said.

"No, that's not why I'm here," and he placed his arm around Neelix's shoulder. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything."

"That letter the Captain got, who was it from?"

Neelix frowned. "Commander, you know that I..."

"Please, it's very important that I know."

Neelix sighed and then whispered. "It was from a Mr. Mark Johnson."

Chakotay nodded. "Thank you, Neelix. You've been a big help."

Neelix nodded and then headed into the kitchen.

Walking out of the Messhall, Chakotay hit his commbadge. "Chakotay to Paris."

"Go ahead, Sir."

"You're in Command until Tuvok get's up there. I'm taking the rest of the night off, I've got some planning to do."

There was a short pause. "Aye, Sir. Good Luck. Paris out." 

***

Chakotay stood in front of the Captain's quarters for a few moments staring at the door chime. He knew he was in danger of being thrown out, but he was determined to stay and talk to her. She needed someone to talk too.

After a few deep breaths, he hit the button. Silence. He hit the button again and again and panic began to rise. He punched in his security code and as the doors opened, he slid inside.

"Kathryn?"

He quickly checked her quarters but couldn't find her. As he moved out of her bedroom, he stepped on something. He knelt down to pick it up, it was a pip. He looked around carefully and noticed three more pips scattered across the floor. He saw the commbadge on the glass table, and her uniform jacket balled up on the couch.

Chakotay paced back and forth as he clutched the pip in his hand thinking of where she might be. "Computer, are the holodecks occupied?"

"Holdeck 2 is occupied."

"Who started the program?"

"Captain Janeway."

Chakotay rushed out of the Captain's quarters and made his way to the holodeck. He was beginning to think the situation was serious.

He approached holodeck two and noticing it was locked, he whispered a curse. "Damn."

His security code was denied so he used his Maquis code and entered.

He was surrounded by dark stone reminding him of the caves of Mars. She was sitting on a rock near water. Her head was lowered and he noticed a glint of silver in her hand. 

Chakotay looked around and then noticed a dented PADD at his feet. He carefully picked it up.

"Kathryn?" he asked with a voice of concern. "Are you okay?"

She said nothing as he walked over and sat down next to her. After a few moments he decided to read the PADD he had just found.

When he was finished, he turned to her. "I'm so sorry."

Kathryn's head snapped up and he could tell she had been crying. He hadn't seen her cry since the happy tears on New Earth when he told her his legend. She snatched the PADD from his hand and threw it forcefully into the rock.

"Why are you here?" she asked as she lowered her head once more.

"I was worried about you."

"Well don't be, I'll be okay."

"You wanna talk about it?"

Kathryn opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She flipped a silver medallion between her fingers as she tried to decide what to say next.

"That," she poked him hard, "UNIFORM ruined my life!"

"Starfleet uniforms in general?" he asked as he rubbed his shoulder.

"No, that DAMN red one!"

Chakotay tilted his head to the side. "What makes you say that?"

Kathryn looked into his eyes. "This could take awhile."

"I have all the time in the world." Chakotay said, happy to know that Kathryn was opening up to him.

"Owen pressured me into joining the Command field. Up until now, I never regretted it." Kathryn stood as she looked at the rock walls and then turned to him. "Because of that damned uniform, I lost my father and two fiancées. Because of that damn uniform I never will do the one thing I loved most, and that is Quantum Mechanics. Because of that damned uniform over one hundred people are stranded out here in this god forsaken quadrant for most likely the rest of our lives."

Chakotay watched Kathryn pace back and forth. "You want my opinion?" he asked as he stood up.

"Of course, always."

"Well, because of that damned red uniform you saved a species that could have been wiped out by the Kazon. Because of that red uniform, you saved my life and the rest of the Maquis crew. That uniform saved someone from the Borg and made her a individual. Same thing happened with a hologram."

Kathryn walked up to him. "That's not fair, you can't defend it."

"Kathryn, you might not like that red uniform on you right now, but I love it. If it wasn't for that uniform I never would have met you, I never would have..." Chakotay took a deep breath.

"Never would have what?"

"You should know how much I love you. I told you that two years ago."

Kathryn took a step closer to him, her body pressing up against his, their eyes locked with each other. He was beautiful, beyond beautiful in fact. She raised a gently shaking hand to tenderly trace his tattoo. Her broken heart was suddenly alive again, beating hard in her chest. She held her breath for a few seconds before lightly raising up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

Their first kiss was gentle and soft, their tongues intertwining. Chakotay ran his hands in her short hair as Kathryn wrapped her arms around his neck. The intrepid captain moaned as her first officer broke the kiss, his hands gently rubbing her cheek.

"You're vulnerable right now, Kathryn. You're going to need time to heal. But please don't blame yourself, or that uniform for what happened. You really have saved my life."

Kathryn's eyes filled with tears. "The Caretaker saved your life, not me."

"No, Kathryn." Chakotay shook his head. "If we had gone back, I would have been most likely killed. I also got a letter from home, and it's bad news. The Maquis have been wiped out. Some are still alive but the most part, the Maquis is over." 

Kathryn was speechless.

Chakotay grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I will always be here for you, as you will always be here for me." He then took the medallion from Kathryn and smiled as he saw the Starfleet emblem on it. "This is who you are."

Kathryn hugged him tightly. "Thank you,"

"You're welcome. But I must ask a question now."

"Of course."

"Where are we?"

Kathryn smiled. "In one of the quarries on Mars."

"Aww, it did remind me a little bit about it. Why did you choose this spot?"

"It's where Mark and I first got into big trouble with Daddy."

"Ooo, got busted huh?"

"Yeah, for swimming in them."

"That is quite dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah, you know me I live for danger."

Chakotay flashed his dimples and grasping her hand he kissed it. "Come on, let's go see if Neelix has some more letters for us. I am hoping to get a letter from my cousin."

"Your cousin?"

"She is just like me, but better looking."

Kathryn laughed. "I doubt that."

~End~


End file.
